Furnace and combustion chamber



May 9, 1939- F.-o. WEEKS FURNACE AND COMBUSTION CHAMBER Fl'ed March 26, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet vl INVENTOR. O. WEEKS FRANK BY ATTORNEY.

May 9, 1939.

F. O, WEEKS FURNAGE AND COMBUSTION CHAMBER Filed March 26, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. FRANK o. we 5K5 BY ATTORNEY.

Patented May 9, 1939 UNITE@ iii-fi'iENT FFlCE l Claim.

10 the grate is made up of independent relatively inclined sections serving to direct the incoming fuel to the point of maximum incandescence, with the unconsumed gases permitted free escape into the combustion chamber proper, with the 1li` further provision of means for selectively admitting Within the area of the unconsumed gases one or Amore jets of air for mingling with and serving for the burning of such gases to increase heat production.

50 ,A further object of the invention is the pro vision of a furnaceI of this type having independent .combustion chambers for the burning of various types of fuel, the unconsuined gases of eac-h of which vare delivered within the area of 25 the 'air jets for efficient consumption of such gases.

A Afurther object of the invention is the pron vision of means wherein the grate is made up as independent units, the fuel directing elements of 30 which are independently removable to provide for handling various types of fuel.

The invention is illustrated in the accoinpanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved 35 furnace, a single coil only being shown for con-- venience.

`Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figurel.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figun 4,0` ure 1.

Figure 4 is a more or less diagrammatic vie-w showingtherelation existing between the air ,iet pipes.

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of Fig 45. ure 1.

Figure 6 is a broken perspective view ci one of the vgrate sections.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of one of the sides of such grate section.

50 AFigure 8 is an enlarged section on the line ti-S of Figure 6. y

Figure 9 is `a perspective view of one of the auxiliary grate bars.

Figure 10 is a section on the line iiilt of 55 Figure 5.

The improved furnace, which aside from the details to be hereinafter speeically noted may be of any desired size or relative proportions, comprises a vertically extending body including side walls which are of substantially L-shape 6 including upright portions 29 and forwardly extending portions lfi. A rear wall 23 provided with clean-out doors 30 extends the full height of the furnace, a front wall l5 closing the front included between the forwardly extending po-rtions I4 10 and a front Wall 2T closing the front above Vthe extensions I4.

An upper wall i3 overlies and encloses the upper ends of the extensions I4, an` upper wall 3l closing the upper end of the upright portions 25. The upper wall I3 is formed with an opening from which rises a rigid throat section Il to the upper edge of which is hingedly connected at l2 a hopper lli of appropriate size to receive and feed the fuel to the furnace.

A plate 42 bridges the space included in the forward portion of the furnace, the plate resting upon rear supports 43 and a forward edge extending inwardly from the front wall l5. The plate 42 is parallel with the top i3 and spaced 25 therefrom an appropriate distance to provide a fire-box. In this fire-box are included two grate sections each, as shown more particularly in Figures 6, 7 and 8, including side walls 4d formed with downwardly inclined slots 45 which open 30 through one vertical edge of the side wall and terminate materially short of the other vertical edge of such wall. The side walls i3 of each section are held in removable unitary formation through cross-rods fil passing through the side walls at appropriate points and secured by nuts 4S countersunk in the outer surfaces of the side walls, as shown more particularly in Figure 8.

Each grate section includes grate vbars in the form of plates 49 slidably cooperating with the 40 side walls 44 through the cooperation of such grate bars with a pair of transversely aligned slots 45. As thus arranged, the grate bars incline downwardly, are held in proper position by gravity and the weight of the fuel, and yet may be readily removed when desired.

The grate proper is made up of two such grate sections with their edges 53 in contact, such edges 53 being those edges remote from the lower ends of the grate bars. When thus positioned, `50 the grate proper constitutes two grate sections, the grate bars of each inclined downwardly toward each other with a considerable space between the proximate ends of the grate bars.

The front plate l5 is formed in its upper por- 55 tion in alignment with the combustion chamber having the grate bars with a door I6 having the usual draft inlet I'I, the space below the plate 42 being also open through the plate I5 controlled by a door 20 with the usual draft door 2l. The space controlled by the door 25 constitutes another fuel chamber, the bottom being constituted by the bottom 22 of the furnace on which is arranged a lining 24 formed with longitudinal depressions 26 providing fuel supporting ridges 25.

In the combustion space is arranged a` coil indicated at 36, the inlet to which is through a pipe 4I! and controlled by a valve 39 and the outlets from which are shown at 4i. As illustrated more particularly in Figure 3, the coil formation within the furnace is in the shape of a header 38 to which one, two or more coils 3B may be connected. Of course, the coil formation proper is not a particularly important feature of the invention except possibly in its location, and it is contemplated that any type of coil or any number of coils may be employed, as desired. The coils may be supported on supports 3l provided within the furnace and, of course, the coils may be of a form more particularly desired for the type of heat, that is hot water, steam or the like, or in the event it is designed more particularly for the production of hot air as the external heating medium, the coils may be entirely eliminated,

Air jet pipes lead through the front wall I5 below the plate 42, being preferably passed through the support 43 and turned upwardly with nozzle outlets at 57 directing the air transverse of and in rear of the grate section. Air inlet pipes 5S lead from the sides of the furnace, terminating in nozzles 58 above and substantially in line with the nozzles 51. The ends of the air pipes 55 and 56 beyond the furnace walls are provided with an air inlet casting 63 having air inlets 64 and providing a casing for a valve 6I controlled by a hand wheel 52 by which admission of air through the particular pipe may be governed.

The escaping products of combustion are led through a iiue 33 opening through the top plate 3| and leading to a chimney 32, the pipe having the usual damper 34 and check 35.

The furnace may be provided with a clean-out door 35 and with a covering 55 of asbestos or other non-heat conducting material. The usual chains I8 may be connected to the doors II by means of a lug I9 on the door for the control of the air admission in the usual manner.

In the use of some fuel, there may be found a tendency to clog between the grate bars, under which circumstances an auxiliary bar or bars 5!) may be employed, which are provided at one end with a depending projection 5I and in spaced relation to such projection with short legs 52 through the medium of which projection and legs the auxiliary bar may be engaged over any grate bar and extend into the space between the proximate ends of the grate bars to break up the fuel as it descends. These auxiliary bars may be solid, as shown in Figure 6, or of skeleton form, as indicated in Figure 9.

The fuel is introduced into the hopper Il] and fed by gravity to the grate bars. This fuel is gradually moved downwardly toward the lower end which, of course, is the point of maximum incandescence. The partiallsr consumed gases escape between the grate bars into the combustion space, air being admitted through the opening of the door I'I and jets of air being introduced through the pipes 55 and 56 to mingle forcibly with the unconsumed gases and cause their combustion, The heat at this point is, of course, the maximum and is utilized for heating the water in the coils or the air in the combustion area if the furnace is to be used for the production of hot air. Through the control of the air inlet to the pipes 55 and 55, as well as the opening of the draft door I'I, the furnace may be regulated to insure almost complete combustion of the unconsumed gases, whereby the thermal eniciency of the furnace is at the maximum and little if any unconsumed products of combustion escape through the flue.

If the fuel is of an exceedingly ne character with a resultant tendency to clogging, the auxiliary grate bars 5U may be employed with any grate bar, though preferably used with the lowermost one, to effectively break up such clogging tendency. If the fuel is unusually coarse, one or more of the grate bars may be removed to facilitate the feeding and buring of the fuel.

The ner fuel is indicated at 5E in Figure 5, and if for any reason it is desired to utilize wood, such may be introduced through the door 2i) and placed on the ridges 25 and ignited. In this use, of course, the air jets may or may not be used, though obviously they are of aid in consuming the unburned gases from the wood-fuel.

It is to be noted that the air is introduced substantially at the point where the unconsumed gases pass between the grate bars toward the combustion space. This insures the most effective combustion of the unconsurned gases and the development at this area of the maximum heat efficiency.

That the coils shown in Figs. 3 and 5 may be of any desired size and number and are installed in one, two or more units as desired and so placed in relation to the combustion chamber so as to utilize the maximum amount of heat.

In Fig. 6; 64 is a plate inserted in slot formed by groove 55 and ridge 65 for the purpose of conning the combustion of the fuel in the grates to any desired place. Plate 64 may be any desired number or width so as to close the opening between two or more of the grates as may be desired or determined.

What is claimed to be new is:

A grate bar construction for furnaces including plates arranged in pairs, the plates of one pair being formed with downwardly inclined channels extending from one edge of each plate but terminating short of the opposite edge of such plate, the plates of the other pair being formed with upwardly inclined channels opening through similar edges of each plate of the pair and terminating short of the opposite edges of the plates, grate bars cooperating with aligned slots of each pair of plates, the plates being arranged with their non-channeled edges in contact to provide a completely uninterrupted fuelreceiving space between the relatively adjacent edges of the inclined plates, and auxiliary grate bars removably secured to any of the first mentioned grate bars to provide projecting elements ybeyond that edge of such grate bar dening the fuel space.

FRANK O. WEEKS. 

